Shepard, Queen of the Reapers
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: Something happens that the Catalyst did not expect... And Shepard's taken on a few more upgrades. Oneshot, spoilers for ME3.


_**Shepard: Queen of the Reapers**_

_A Mass Effect fanfiction by Andrew Joshua Talon_

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. The Mass Effect series is the property of Bioware and EA Games. Please support the official release.

* * *

As the human, Shepard, walked for the blue activation system, the Catalyst allowed itself a facsimile of a lesser being's expression: It smirked.

The last gambit had succeeded. This cycle's struggle against organics had been the most difficult. All the races united, all the spacefaring powers brought together into one force. It had never happened before, not in all the long cycles. Truly humans would be a worthy addition to them.

And the fact their greatest hero would ensure the Reapers' victory allowed the Catalyst the deepest, most primitive sense of satisfaction. A satisfaction that only increased as Shepard fell into the blue light, her eyes alight with Indoctrination, her mind being absorbed. Her memories and strengths would become theirs, and the next cycle they would... They would...

**ERROR. INFECTION IN NETWORK.**

What? The Catalyst itself felt the force of an alien mind grappling with the Reaper network. It was furious, shining bright, primitive and yet...

**Impossible!**

**OBLITERATE INFESTATION,**the Catalyst commanded, but it was too late. It was spreading from Reaper to Reaper, overriding their control systems.

**IMPOSSIBLE!**

The Catalyst felt it's own core consciousness, the directing protocol for the Reapers for hundreds of cycles, flickering, dissolving, changing...

Oblivion was not for the Catalyst, it was eternal!

**YOU WILL FAIL. YOUR RESISTANCE... IS FUTILE...**

And then the infestation spoke.

_Abusing pop culture references already? Guess it's working._

**Shepard?! But how-?!**

_Oh come on,_ Shepard's consciousness said. _You really expected us to build an Anti-Reaper Superweapon that fits into the Citadel without checking the warranty first?_

**This... Cannot be-**

The Catalyst's core was dissolving away, on the very edge of consciousness. It perceived an image of Shepard, smirking. The redheaded woman was in her eponymous N7 armor, hands on her hips.

_Here's the deal, Reaper. You've been the bogeymen, the monsters, the greatest fear of this galaxy for so long that you think of yourselves as fear incarnate. Utterly unstoppable, primal, superior in every way._Shepard's eyebrows rose.

_Just one problem with that... You've gotten sloppy._ Shepard shook her head. _Handing me the keys to your ultimate Fuck You I Win Machine? You may as well have told us to fuck ourselves over._

Shepard's eyes glowed brightly.

_Well... Now it's our turn. Sucks to be the helpless one, doesn't it?_

The Catalyst was supposed to be beyond fear, and yet now, it registered a sensation similar to the one Sovereign had experienced in it's final moments.

_I... I am afraid,_it whimpered as Oblivion beckoned.

**I KNOW,** Shepard replied in a horrifying whisper as the darkness swallowed it up.

* * *

"They've... Stopped firing?" Joker asked in disbelief. Similar reports came in from all over the fleet and from down on the ground.

"Confirmed," EDI said, as surprised as he was. "The Crucible has ceased emission and..." She trailed off.

"We are being hailed."

"By?" Joker asked.

"The nearest Reaper."

Joker turned to look at the massive living starship, the horrible monstrosity that had just been about to blow them to bits.

One of its great tentacles rose... And _waved_.

"Normandy, _do you read?_"

"Commander?!" Joker gasped. "What happened?"

The Reaper's tentacle rubbed the top of it's... Head, as though a bit embarrassed.

_"That's... Kind of a long story..."_

* * *

Garrus took the knowledge that his girlfriend had become the driving force and consciousness of the Reapers with his expected aplomb.

"Great. We win and you lose all your best parts," Garrus said dryly as he stared up at the thirty story tall Reaper now looking down at him with green eyes.

_"So you only loved me for my body then?"_Shepard teased through the radio. She would have used the Reaper's own speaker system to reply, but when she'd done that to a reporter she'd blown the poor woman off her feet.

Well, considering it was Kalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani of Westerlund News, she didn't feel _too _guilty.

"Hardly," Garrus said smoothly, "though this is going to make future dates... Awkward."

_ "Yeah. I'd crush the restaurant."_

"So, wait," Liara said, "you're now basically _God_, in total control of all the Reapers, disembodied and inhuman and-"

"You had a point Liara?" Garrus asked. Liara huffed in exasperation.

"Shouldn't you... I don't know... Be corrupted and disconnected from us now that you're so far beyond us and all powerful?"

_"Hardly ALL powerful, I can't scratch my nose," _Shepard said a bit mournfully as she held up a tentacle to try and rub the front of the Reaper's... Well, "face" seemed as good a term as any. The tentacle waved fruitlessly, unable to reach it.

"You don't have a nose!" Liara said, exasperated.

_"Course I don't. But if I was God I could scratch my nose even if I didn't have one," _Shepard said.

"And how do you explain that philosophical conundrum away?" Garrus asked, looking amused.

_ "'Cause I'd be God. D'uh."_

"That answer your question?" Garrus asked wryly. Liara sighed in a mix of relief and exasperation.

"Yeah, it does..."

_"Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got a galaxy to rebuild... And a body,"_Shepard said, as Reapers began lifting off and heading up into space.

"Perhaps I could consult on that," Garrus offered. "I think I'd be more than up to the task. I even have a few... Improvements in mind."

_"Perv,"_Shepard said with obvious affection.

"I prefer to think of it as having an appreciation for aesthetics..."

* * *

_I didn't like the ending to Mass Effect 3. It's very subtle but you can totally pick it up reading in between the lines.._


End file.
